Far Out!

Far out, far away, far from what, exactly?

Have you ever wondered what someone meant when they said, ‘…the far right’, or, ‘the woke extremists’, or the like?

I used to. I got to thinking about dichotomies and the huge failure of logic when black and white thinking is adopted. And this happens much too often due to critical thinking not taught at school.

The far right seems to be short hand for people who adhere, usually less but often more, to the content of one of three religious books. Monogamy, heterosexuality, non-think and obedience to gain favour of a god after death are the themes.

The far left presents as compassionate, caring, inclusive, and diverse, but only if your identity does not conform to the far right’s, which usually implies white and straight and male, but only in the predominantly white countries.

Odd that the far left is violently opposed to racism and bigotry, yet only in some contexts. Some are happy to ignore sexual orientation and class to marginalise targets.

So, far, far away from the undefined and unclear area between these two extremes is a very strong and sturdy question mark: what is it these not-so-distant cousins orbit?

Have you ever wondered how one engine keeps going for decades while another self-destructs in a few years? It’s called lubricant – in this case, oil.

Have you ever wondered why some groups last centuries while others last days? It’s called lubricant, in this case – shared values.

Lubricants are such an understated component of group cohesion, be it physical or social, but are critical to smooth operation.

500 years ago, an old type of lubricant was dragged out of the back shed, dusted off, and thrust into a new horrific conflict.

Jesus had preached the Buddhist benefits of compassion and forgiveness, but the Jews and Romans, in a FREAK confluence of agreement, topped him.

1500 years later, the way believers could show their virtue came to a fork in the road: right meant continuing obeisance to the pope; left meant obeisance to the national king.

As a result, in countries across western Europe, bloody war erupted through the centuries. This schism still wends its way through our culture, and the soul-ution still enables peace.

Just like the oil in an engine, and the unstated shared values of a resilient group, this social mechanism persists to maintain group cohesion despite myriad differences.

Impartial judgements based on observable evidence is one application. It requires true human integrity to ascertain.

Liberty of belief and action for both me and thee requires true human courage to maintain.

Critical thinking demands the strictest of human reason to which we appertain.

There is a certain degree of selflessness in the centre, in the eye of the storm, where peace only steels our hearts, and consideration empties itself into our souls.

In this centre, betwixt extremes, here are tendrils superseding self-indulgence and what we believe to be true.

Here we find a certainty elevated above the biological necessities of existence.

Here we find our true natures: awareness, selflessness, and love.